Bhubaneswar: The state govt has initiated efforts to make public transportation more accessible for persons with disabilities (PwDs), senior citizens and other vulnerable commuters by advocating for low-floor buses across the state.Suresh Kumar Vashishth, the principal secretary of the social security and empowerment of persons with disabilities (SSEPD) department, in a letter, urged the housing and urban development (H&UD) and the commerce and transport departments to take immediate steps for the procurement and deployment of buses whose footboards are of a lower height.He highlighted that wheelchair users, senior citizens and persons with mobility challenges are unable to effectively use the high-floor buses currently operating or proposed for procurement in the state. He stressed that accessible public transport is an essential component of inclusive governance and is closely linked to the constitutional and statutory rights of persons with disabilities.Citing the Supreme Court’s judgment in Rajive Raturi vs Union of India (2018), Vashishth said that all govt buses should be disability-friendly and comply with prescribed accessibility standards. “Further, the Harmonised Guidelines and Standards for Universal Accessibility in India, 2021, also recommend low-floor and accessible buses for public transportation and stipulate that at least 10% of the fleet should be disability-friendly,” he stated.At present, major urban centres such as Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Sambalpur, Rourkela and Puri, lack an adequate number of low-floor buses, limiting the mobility and independence of differently-abled persons and senior citizens. The only disability-friendly buses present in the state now are the electric buses operating under the Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT) network. Introduced earlier this year, these modern 9-metre e-buses are specifically designed with low-floor entry and wheelchair-accessible ramps to allow differently abled commuters to board and alight easily.The SSEPD department has requested both the departments and the Odisha State Road Transport Corporation to take urgent measures to ensure accessible transportation services for the PwD community in Odisha. The request also comes following Centre’s mandate that all new city buses manufactured from this Oct onwards must have a low-floor design with a 400 mm floor height and wheelchair ramps.
